This was highly unlikely and even if it was, he should have made the necessary corrections to the piece before sending it on for subbing.
Usually I write about grammar, but what about style?
Grammar, if you know the rules, can with effort and dedication be learnt. Style, however, is unique to the individual. Writing in your own voice almost as you speak, is how you will develop your style.
When you build your unique style, you readers will begin to recognise your work before they see your by line.
Ernest Hemingway used to begin his sentences with ‘and’ or ‘but’, that was his style; Dickens used aesthetically complex sentences, and that was his style. So, each writer has his own style, which is the sum of all the writing mannerisms, choice of vocabulary, and grammar constructions. Will your sentences be long or short? Will you use words that are simple or sophisticated?
I once punned in a headline “No comma sense”.
This referred to a number quoted by a government department which did not know where to put the comma between noughts so it had created an astronomical number, millions more than what was accurate.
With numbers commas and their placing are critical. With words, commas are the most helpful grammar tool, to help make sense of a sentence.
